Exact retribution is the foundation for justice. And God will express his righteous judgment by this firm principle.
But... is this always the case? Is Paul contradicting himself by his previous declaration that salvation is by faith alone? Then why is he bringing up judgment according to works? The answer to this must simply be that we are justified before God by faith, but we will all stand before God on a public occasion & be judged according to our works. John Stott clarifies, "The divine judgment, which is a process of sifting & separating, is going on secretly all the time, as people range themselves for or against Christ, but on the last day its results will be make public" (Romans, 84).
Stott continues, "Such a public occasion, on which a public verdict will be given & a public sentence passed, will require public & verifiable evidence to support them. And the only public evidence available will be our works, what we have done & have been seen to do. The presence or absence of saving faith in our hearts will be disclosed by the presence or absence of good works of love in our lives" (Romans, 84).
Doesn't that sound familiar? James 2:17 ff says, "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead...I will show you my faith by my works." Or, as Rich Mullins sung, "Faith without works is like a song you can't sing, it's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine."
Based upon Romans 2:7-8, at judgment, there are only two groups of people. The first group are "those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory & honor & immortality, he will give eternal life." These are people who prove their faith by seeking God-centeredness; they persevere in life by faith. The second group are "self-seeking (selfishness, selfish ambition) & do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness." As Stott succinctly stated, "those who are infatuated with themselves, & engrossed in self-centered goals, inevitably reject the truth & follow evil" (Romans, 84).
Application:
We must all take inventory. I am quickly sobered by this reading as I consider my life. If I claim that my life is centered upon faith in God yet my actions prove otherwise, I may be fooling myself. If you were to sit down & list your goals, I wonder how many of them would be self-seeking, selfish ambition goals? What do you treasure most? It is money/wealth, success & recognition, power/control? If so, your actions (my actions) may be indicative that your faith is not in Christ but in other things. Although you have a form of 'religion,' you may not be living in faith. Sometimes we must ask ourselves, "Is my life characterized by faith in the Son of God? Is Jesus my treasure?"
I pray that God would speak to our hearts as we are honest before Him. My friends, justification is by faith in the atoning work of Christ... but our lives (good works) should display the gospel.
As I read this, I was alarmingly reminded at how much of my life is spent serving me...living for my glory alone. The art of taking inventory is a difficult process, because no self-centered person wants to see themselves as they are.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff Ben. I am really enjoying this Romans series, and look forward to hearing a 7 yr sermon series on it in the future.:)
Do you think we could get through it in 7 years? Thanks for your response. It is very difficult to take inventory of ourselves, especially when we are so developed in seeing the sin in others while ignoring or justifying our own. It is so important that we allow God's word to give us a proper image of ourselves.
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